draw your swords
by Immoroita
Summary: But all she can feel is adrenaline and numb joy coursing through her body. [thalia x nico]


**Author's Note: **I'm making it my mission to save Thalico. This ship has lay dormant for too long.

Enjoy!

**Rating: **T

**Summary: **But all she can feel is adrenaline and numb joy coursing through her body. [thalia x nico]

* * *

"Hey, Thalia, who's that hot guy at the table over there? He keeps looking your way. Do you know him?"

The black-haired daughter of Zeus turns sharply towards Lacy, who looks even more excited than usual. Oh, how she hates the children of Aphrodite – most of them, anyway. Lacy is one of the exceptions, but that could very well change during this enlightening conversation.

"Which table?" Thalia asks tentatively. Okay, she won't deny that there are a couple of people in the dining pavilion that she finds good-looking, but it's not as though she'd ever act on these thoughts. It simply wouldn't be right for a Hunter of Artemis – least of all the goddess' right-hand Lieutenant.

The daughter of Aphrodite points over to the far corner of the room and Thalia follows her line of sight to Nico di Angelo, who is staring moodily at the wall, as he usually is.

Nico, she's never given much thought to, honestly; he's always just been the annoying kid who went crazy for a while and almost went over to Kronos' side, but came to his senses and rejoined the _right_ side. Bianca was a much more prominent figure in her life – still is, really – and her kid brother has never been of much concern to Thalia.

Only, he's _not_ a kid any more. He's the kind of dark-haired wanderer that girls tend to like (most girls, anyway). All right, she can see why Lacy would call him 'hot'. Not in the Apollo way, but in a different way.

Thalia prefers this kind of attractiveness to the Apollo kind of attractiveness. It's just a matter of taste.

Nico stops his brooding and suddenly turns his dark eyes to meet hers. She's taken aback a little, but stares back at him, unblinkingly, daring him to look away first.

His tongue flicks out and wets his lips nervously, and his gaze returns to the wall. Thalia rolls her eyes and returns her attention to the only thing worth paying attention to here – that is to say, her dinner.

* * *

"Hey, di Angelo!"

Thalia shouts at his retreating back and runs towards him after dinner is over and everyone's heading for the campfire. Nico stops walking and turns around slowly to look at her. "What is it?" he asks in a quiet, solemn voice that sort of takes Thalia by surprise. She doesn't remember much about his voice, just that it used to be playful and boyish. It makes her a little bit sad, to think that he's not the kid he once was and that she's not the kid she once was and that nothing will ever be the same again.

"Nothing, I just…" She trails off as she reaches him and stands in front of him. Only now does she realize – he's not a little boy anymore. He's seventeen, in fact, and is probably leaving camp soon. He's taller than her by a few centimeters, she thinks appreciatively, and she has to look up to talk to him. "I just wanted to say hi. We haven't talked in a long time, huh?"

"Yeah," he says in that soft, distant voice. "A long time. Three years."

"It's been that long, huh," Thalia muses, as the last of the campers trickle past them towards the campfire, until they're the last ones standing in the dim light of the torches. "Sorry, I just… time kind of bends when you never age." She laughs a little, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear nervously.

A small smile tugs at the corners of Nico's mouth. "I bet it does. Well, um… it was really nice talking to you."

"You too," Thalia says, voice far away, as he turns and walks off.

Maybe she'll just go back to the cabin and have an early night. She's suddenly not in the mood for a campfire.

* * *

One evening, Thalia walks over to the lake and finds an unexpected presence there. "Nico? Why are you here?"

"Should I not be here?" he counters, looking down at the water.

"No," the Hunter says hesitantly, sitting down by the lake a ways away from him. "I'm here because… y'know. Everything's getting a little bit much for me. The new Great Prophecy that Rachel spewed out yesterday has everyone going a little bit nuts. I mean, the last two happened within a few years of each other. What if this one happens soon, too?" Thalia sighs and slips her feet into the cool water. "My Hunters are pretty worried. We lost a lot of people in the last war against the giants, so I can understand."

Nico doesn't say anything, but looks at her silently. Thalia looks back at him and smiles a little. "Y'know what? You're a good listener, Nico. I feel a lot calmer now that I've gotten all that out there."

They sit in silence for a long while. Thalia watches the nymphs giggle and play in the depths of the lake.

"You knew my sister, didn't you?" Nico says shortly. "Bianca, I mean. Not Hazel."

Thalia looks over to see his intense, dark gaze fixated on her in utter concentration, and fights an urge to blush. "Yeah, I did," she says, keeping her voice controlled.

Nico nods and averts his eyes. "I wondered. You know, she spoke really highly of you."

"Really," Thalia says distantly. "We didn't know each other that long."

"Right from the moment she met you," Nico continues, words rushing out in a torrent that seems as though it's wanted to get out for ages. "She said you were an amazing person and the bravest person she'd ever met."

Thalia swallows a lump that suddenly forms in her throat. "O – oh. Well, um…" The daughter of Zeus clears her throat and stands up, slipping her shoes back on. "I'm just going to… go."

"Bye," Nico deadpans, staring determinedly out at the setting sun.

Thalia turns and leaves, and wonders how he can speak so calmly of his dead sister.

* * *

Despite her abrupt exit, Thalia returns to the lake often, at the same time, and always finds Nico sitting there. Sometimes they talk, and sometimes they sit in silence. Each time, they move closer to each other. Thalia's very aware of this, but never does anything to change it.

A few months later, when the world is in a relative state of peace, Thalia and Nico sit next to each other. Nico's making a daisy chain (which Thalia finds is the most adorable thing ever) and both of them are dangling their feet in the water.

"Remember when I told you that my sister thought you were amazing?" he says suddenly, fingers halting in their steady rhythm. "The first time you came down to the lake, I mean."

"I remember," Thalia murmurs, swirling her foot around in the water and watching the ripples move lazily across the glassy surface. "You said she thought I was the bravest person ever right from the moment – "

"It wasn't her who thought that," Nico interrupts, eyes fixated on the daisy chain in his hands. "It was me."

A moment of stunned silence.

He turns his head and looks at her just as she turns towards him, and their faces are suddenly close.

Unacceptably close.

"I'm a Hunter," Thalia says in a low voice, but doesn't make any movement to draw back from him. "I'm not allowed to do anything intimate."

"I know," Nico replies, and kisses her.

Their lips touch and somewhere in the back of her mind, Thalia knows she should feel some kind of remorse. Her career as a Hunter is over; she will no longer never age or never get sick. Artemis will carry a grudge against her forever. The other Hunters will hate her for betraying them. She should feel bad.

But as Nico's hand moves tentatively over to her jaw and his other one goes towards her waist, all she can feel is adrenaline and numb joy coursing through her body as the kiss deepens and he draws nearer to her.

A blinding light startles them both and Lady Artemis steps out, looking down at Thalia silently. Thalia stumbles to her feet and the two share a silent exchange.

The goddess dips her head and puts a hand to Thalia's forehead. The tiara nestled in her hair disappears and she suddenly feels weak.

"I'm sorry, Lady Artemis," the demigod stutters, struggling to stay upright.

"So am I," Artemis returns, regarding her impassively, and disappears, presumably to appoint a new Lieutenant.

Thalia sits down and puts her head in her hands. "Gods, that was stupid of me."

Nico sits silently next to her, looking down at his daisy chain, and very slowly begins to construct it again. Thalia peeks out at him through her fingers. "Well, what now? Do we continue… all this?"

"If you want," he says.

"Do you want to?"

"Yes," Nico says.

"Me too," Thalia says weakly, smiling at him, and stands up. "I guess I should get my things moved into the Zeus cabin. Oh, and it's my sixteenth birthday tomorrow, I suppose. I need to get things sorted out."

Nico lets her leave without saying anything, but a smile lingers on his face, and remains for a long while after she goes away.


End file.
